Who pays for false burglary alarm calls?

And depending on the company, that fee may be passed to customers, police said.

The $90 fee is charged when an officer arrives, and the alarm is false. A $30 fee is charged if an officer is dispatched, but the call is canceled before police arrive.

The Seattle Police Department operates their alarm program on a cost recovery model as required by the City Council and the fee is re-evaluated each year.

In 2007, Seattle police officers were dispatched to 14,119 alarm calls, according to department statistics. Only 332 – less than 3 percent – had physical evidence of a crime.

False alarms cost the citizens of Seattle approximately $1.2 million dollars in 2007 and displaced officers to locations without crime, police said.

The Seattle Police Department does not consider burglar alarm response to be a basic police service, which is why a fee is charged for false alarms, Chris Hall, a detective with the false alarm unit, said in an e-mail.

The department may place alarm systems that experience six or more false alarms in any consecutive 12-month period on “no response status.”

Alarm customers may receive waivers for alarm fees for attending a free alarm user’s workshop, by switching to a private guard response or for making technology upgrades to their systems, Hall said.

Alarm companies are required to provided a unique identifying number, a code given to licensed alarm companies, to 911 dispatchers. Those who don’t have a code are in violation of Seattle Municipal Code 6.10.010.

Without one, the department will no longer dispatch officers to a to a monitored burglary alarm.

People can follow this link for a list of alarm companies licensed in Seattle.